FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Having delayed sleep phase
syndrome (DSPS) appears to be linked to irregular menstrual cycles
and increased premenstrual symptoms in women, according to a new
report.
DSPS occurs when your internal clock is naturally out of sync
with real time, so that staying up late and having difficulty
waking early is your norm. It is unlike such conditions as jet lag,
because external factors (time zone change, noise, light) do not
cause your internal clock to desynchronize.
According to the new findings, women with delayed sleep phase
syndrome were twice as likely to report an irregular menstrual
cycle compared to control subjects. The frequency climbed to three
times as many if the DSPS woman was not using birth control.
Cramps, mood swings and other premenstrual issues were reported
by 69 percent of the women with delayed sleep phase syndrome,
compared with almost 17 percent of those without the condition.
"While the data is preliminary, these results suggest that women
with delayed sleep phase syndrome may be at increased risk for
menstrual irregularity associated with circadian misalignment,"
study author Kari Sveum, of Northwestern University in Chicago,
said in a prepared statement. "Further investigation with a larger
group of subjects using prospective diary data would be useful to
further establish the effects of circadian disruption on
reproductive cycles in women with delayed sleep phase
syndrome."
The results of the study, which analyzed questionnaires
completed by 13 women with delayed sleep phase syndrome and 13
healthy women without DSPS, were presented this week at the annual
meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in
Baltimore.
More information
The National Sleep Foundation has more about
how to get a good night's sleep.
